


Torture

by RemusCrypt



Category: Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy
Genre: Mevolent's War, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:28:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28690212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RemusCrypt/pseuds/RemusCrypt
Summary: Nefarian Serpine catches Skulduggery Pleasant during Mevolent's war and interrogation ensues.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Torture

The room was dark. Barely any sunlight managed to seep through the cracks of the castle wall. The cobblestone floors frozen to the touch, but echoed footsteps approaching from the hallway. The door swung open and _he_ was standing there. Hair like a raven's wing, skin so pale that he looked almost like a porcelain doll and those eyes. Those piercing emerald eyes that snatched up any source of light from the dimly lit room and made them glow.

_Nefarian Serpine._

Skulduggery's tired eyes followed Nefarian as he approached. He knew trouble was coming his way by the Nefarian walked in with that smile on his face and the way he played with the fingers of the glove on his right hand.

"You were so brazen, some might even say brave. I'm not some. I call it what it is. Cockiness and arrogance."

Skulduggery's lips were dry, his throat felt like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing against each other. "I'd consider myself quite brave. Wouldn't you?"

Nefarian pinched at each finger tip of the glove abd yanked ever so quickly until he could just slip the glove off with ease. The red right hand was exposed. Without flesh, just muscle and tendons and bones and wet blood. It looked nothing like the diagrams of hands in medical books, it was surreal to see on a living person, whether it cause Nefarian pain or not was something that Skulduggery had flitting in the back of his mind. "You should see a healer about that-"

**SLAP**

The sharp sting of bone slapping flesh at such speed shut Skulduggery up for a second or two. He could feel that residue of blood was stuck to his face, after the sting wore off his face felt warm.

"Your mouth won't help you here."

"How can we be sure of that?"

Another slap, this time much harder.

"You see," Nefarian flexed the fingers of his grotesque red right hand. "Your cockiness and arrogance makes you easy to predict. Doesn't work well with others, and always ready to prove yourself to someone for some reason. Perhaps if you stayed with your pathetic Dead Men you might have stood a chance."

"Might have is a little harsh-"

Nefarian placed his foot on the chair between Skulduggery's knees and kicked him backwards. The chair tilted then crashed harshly to the floor. The back of Skulduggery's head was the first thing to make contact with the rough texture of the cobblestone floor. Nefarian knelt over him and smirked. He spoke but Skulduggery couldn't hear what he was saying, something spiteful to be sure, but all he could hear was a high pitched ringing that spread from one ear to the other.

Then a kick to the side of his head. And another, and another, until Skulduggery couldn't stay awake any longer.

Skulduggery wasn't sure what happened within the time he was out cold, it could have been for a few moments or half a day, the lack of light in the room made it difficult to tell the concept of time anymore. All he knows is that he was sat upright, his shirt had been torn off and that he had an unsettling feeling. The hairs on his arms and on the back of his neck stood straight and his cheeks flushed a hot sanguine colour. That's when he figured out why. The high pitched sizzle of a hot iron stick, the bright orange glow that illuminated the room with an unnatural warmth. Nefarian took such pleasure in using the fire to heat up the iron until it squealed and evaporated mist. "Don't worry," Nefarian almost chuckled as he spoke. "This is for you, not me."

Skulduggery couldn't help himself but squirm and visibly sweat. 

"Something wrong? You're speechless."

Skulduggery had no quick response. His eyes followed the glow of the hot iron stick as Nefarian took his time to saunter towards him with it. Lazily waving the stick around as he did so.

Nefarian placed the hot rod uncomfortably close to Skulduggery's collarbone without touching it, but he was close. "Now is your chance to open that mouth of yours and tell me something useful."

Skulduggery swallowed thickly. "Useful? Like the differences between which snakes are poisonous or venemous... Although I guess you in particular already know about that."

"Yes, I do." Nefarian slowly pushed the red iron into Skulduggery's chest. He screamed an ugodly noise, he felt his lungs might burst. The smell of burning flesh overpowered the room. Nefarian pushed the stick more until the blood that touched it squeaked and bubbled. Then the muscles contracted and bones crunched. Skulduggery coughed violently until blood poured from his mouth and nose. The iron stick was pulled away slowly and agonisingly. It hurt more than shoving it into his chest. Then the clanging of the metal stick being dropped on the cold floor echoed loudly against the ice cold stone.

"Well?" Nefarian spoke with a twinge of impatience to his tone, though his smile said he was enjoying the moment.

"Well what?"

"Oh," Nefarian gave a toothy grin that suited his handsome smile "That was a mistake on your part." He stared intently as he conjured up the purple tendrils. The smoke that paired along with it was suffocatingly thick. The tendrils were obedient to its master and immediately wrapped themselves around the chair legs and snaked and slithered their way up the chair and all over Skulduggery's body. One smaller tendril made sure to add pressure and dig its way into the fresh, smouldering wound on his chest. Skulduggery cried out in immeasurable pain and snatched at his hands and feet to try to escape the binds that held him in place, but to no avail.

"This is the one time you probably would like to rely on that big mouth of yours." Nefarian taunted. "One chance."

Skulduggery's eyes watered. He gritted his teeth together with such force that a front tooth had cracked right down the centre. He tried to move his head away to the side as he felt the tendrils coil themselves tightly around his neck. With every second they got tighter and tighter. Skulduggery couldn't see Nefarian standing over him with that grin of his. The last thing he saw before he passed out were those glowing emerald eyes silently enjoying the pleasure of watching a man struggle to grasp onto the last few moments of life he still had in him. 


End file.
